Standing Side Bend | Illustrated Exercise Guide

Primary muscles: Obliques
Secondary muscles: Abs
Equipment: Dumbbell
Exercise for the opposite muscles: Alternating superman

STANDING SIDE BEND INSTRUCTIONS

1. Stand up tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, hold a dumbbell with both hands and raise your arms up and above your head.
2. Bend your torso to the right, as far as it feels comfortable, and pause.
3. Return to the initial position and bend to the left side.
4. Keep alternating sides until the set is complete.

PROPER FORM AND BREATHING PATTERN

Face front, engage your core and don’t lean forward nor back. Keep your head and neck neutral and breathe in as you slowly bend to the side. Go as far as it feels comfortable, pause for a second, and exhale as you return to the starting position.

EXERCISE BENEFITS

The standing side bend targets the external and internal obliques and strengthens the side ab wall. This exercise helps to sculpt the waist, tightens the core and improves your posture and stability.

DEMONSTRATION

SETS AND REPS

Start with 2 or 3, 30 second to 1 minute sets, and, to slim down your waist in no time, pair the standing side bend with plank hip dips, russian twists and the wood chop exercise.

CALORIES BURNED

To calculate the number of calories burned doing the standing side bend, enter your weight and the duration of the exercise:

RELATED CORE EXERCISES

Try these other core exercises to tighten, sculpt and strengthen your abs, obliques, lats and lower back:
Plank shoulder taps
Side crunch
Triangle crunch
Inverted V plank